Before becoming a writer, she worked as a CPA for the former BellSouth Mobility. After maxing out seven credit cards and getting into credit card debt, she decided to leave her cubicle to become a financial journalist and help others avoid the mistakes she had made. Through her books and media appearances, she's become well-known in the credit industry as a consumer advocate.

Cons: Some cards charge a balance transfer fee, such as 3 percent or $5, on the amounts you transfer. Also, the combined transferred amounts and fees usually cannot be higher than your credit limit, which might not accommodate all your debts. Some lenders also don’t allow you to use a balance transfer to pay off credit cards or loans from the same lender.

Besides imposing no annual fee, the card has other perks, like rewarding me with a $20 statement credit when I reported a good GPA (up to 5 consecutive years), letting me earn 5 percent cash back on purchases in rotating categories, and matching the cash-back bonus I earned over the first 12 months with my account. For me, it was a great starter card, but there are plenty of other options out there.
A report by FICO® showed that younger consumers can earn high credit scores with excellent credit behavior. 93% of consumers with credit scores between 750 and 799 who were under age 29 never had a late payment on their credit report. In contrast, 57% of the total population had at least one delinquency. This good credit group also used less of their available credit. They had an average revolving credit utilization ratio of 6%. The nation as a whole had a utilization ratio of 15%.39
The two primary forms of bankruptcy that consumers choose to file are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Chapter 7 allows a filer to liquidate nonexempt assets to pay off creditors and discharge their remaining debts. Chapter 13, called a wage earner’s plan, gives filers with regular income the opportunity to create a short repayment plan to pay off their debts.

If you have medical debt, you may be wondering what options are available to you. Medical debt can be consolidated into a nonprofit debt management program, though you may not receive lower interest rates. Considering that much medical debt is already at a low or zero interest rate, this should not be a deterrent. By consolidating medical debt to a debt management program, you are simplifying your bill pay and committing to timely, consistent payments of your medical debt. This will help you pay off your debt faster and also may have a positive impact on your credit score.

Most balance transfer offers are from the date you open your account, not the date you complete the transfer. It is in your interest to complete the balance transfer right away, so that you can benefit from the low interest rate as soon as possible. With most credit card companies, you will actually lose the promotional balance transfer offer if you do not complete the transfer within 60 or 90 days. Just get it done!
Now, let’s take this a step further; one of the biggest misconception of this industry is that one’s credit score and credit report are the same thing. The truth is, both concepts are gravely different. A credit report is a mere profile of your entire credit history – including all your positive and negative moments. This report is held and created by the three credit agencies, or bureau: Equifax, Experian, and Call Credit. It’s here that lenders can discover if you’ve missed a payment, how many loans you have taken out, and even how reliable you are. On the other hand, a credit score is a number that derives on five different factors from your credit report, which leads us to our next significant section.
Taking out a home equity loan could also require you to pay closing costs that can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars, according to the CFPB. If the property declines in value, you could also run the risk of falling underwater on it. With that said, a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit could serve as an optimal way to pay off debt. As with any major financial decision, being well-informed will help you make the best choice for your unique situation.
The debt settlement process involves hard-core, long term debt collection attempts by your creditors, and serious credit score damage that will last for many years. Debt consolidation companies like National Debt Relief and Freedom Debt Relief offer to help you through the process for a fee (eating into your savings). They will instruct you to stop paying your bills, which leaves you open to lawsuits by your creditors.
I was wondering if you could give me a little advice to help raise my credit score within 5-6 months. I have recently paid off all of my collection accounts and was told to get at least two secured credit cards, as I do not have any active credit. The only active credit that I have is my student loans because I am in school all deferred until 2018& 2021, current car loan which I pay on time and a credit card from my credit union (that I pay on time) but it only reports to one bureau (Equifax), bummer!! About a month ago a mortgage broker pulled my credit and my lowest score was about 540 the highest was 590, and he said I needed to increase my score but didn't say how (no advice given). Since having my report pulled I have paid off the collections and have obtained 2 secured credit cards. My credit cards have not been reported to my credit report yet and all of the paid collections have been updated so I'm not sure what my scores are as of know. I am looking to be able to be approved for a home loan in the next 5-6 months with good interest rates. Can someone please give me advice that can possibly help me to raise my score about 80-100 points in this time frame? Also I would like to say that there is a lending company that will give FHA home loans with a credit score of 580 credit score in my area, but not sure if their interest rates are ridiculously high. Would going with this company be a good option?
UPDATE: The Alternative Loan Machine is actually fixing the issue for me now. Apparently the problem was during the period when they were switching from beta testing to going live. Their communications were down while they were transferring everything over to their new system. They’ve since contacted me and are assisting in getting my refund back from the vendor I hired through them, so everything’s getting taken care now. They are at this time doing everything they advertise themselves doing.